Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1887-06-23
The MANASSAS Church Scandal.

the scandalous stories and charges recently
circulated to the injury of the pastor of the
church, Rev. Francis M. Todd. Mr.. Round
is not member of the Presbyterian church,
but 3 Methodist. The report which ne has
submitted is as follows
TO the Session Of the Manassas Presbyterian
Church.
In response to your written request OF
June 9. 1887. I visited the vicinity of the
First PRESBYTERIAN church ofPrince William
on June 10 and H. Before doing so l noti-
fed Rev. Francis NJ. Todd and John r.
Horubaker to fur nish me the names OF any
witnesses they might desire examined. l
also delivered to John r. Hornbaker the
notice signedby the session, requesting him
to lay before them, at a meeting to be held
at the church on Monday, June Is, at 10 a. m.
any evidence he might have to sustain MS
allegations to the stated clerk OF the presby-
terry. [ also, on Saturday, June II, called
at The house of VIM. f. Bodine and left with
Che person in charge of the premises no.
iico in writing to send me the names OF any
Witnesses he might desire to testify before
me To these notices Mr.. Hornbaker and
MIR. Bodne have made no response.
In order that | might know definitely the
contents of the papers shown by him TO the
clerk Of the presby:ery, asked Mr.. Horn
baker 10 show me the said papers, which he
declined 10 do. | was therefore compelled
10 rely on rumor and newspaper articles,
which were frequently so erroneous as to
have little or no resemblance TO the case as
it nov appears.
Inthe course of my investigation | found
no foundation whatever for the following
rumors:
l. The story, us first published, that MIR.
Todd, on Sunday, after preaching to his
| congregation, escorted young woman to
her home and that while on the way
thither the couple were discovered by a
colored man in a position damaging to the
reputation of both So far from this, it now
appears that he rode on horseback to Col.
Shows and remained over night, where it
50 happened there was but one lady, and
she about eighty years old.
> The story that the nformer had been
arrested and locked mp by Mr. Todd's
friends. So far from this Mr.. Todd and his
church seem to have paid no attention 10
the story till it was taken up by Mr.. Horn
baker. The negro, Turner, has been undis'
turbed except by interviewers.
g. Tue story that Mr.. Todd had left the
county. There is no foundation for believ-
Jug that he contemplated such a course.
t. The story that he stayed on Monday
night at Elder Washington's house and took
by-road through the woods on Tuesday to
the point designated by Turner.
s. The story that on the day named by
Turner he had an engagement to dine with
Dr. ReddiDg at noon, but did not arrive till
p. M, and then, when asked by the doctor
about his whereabouts. named place where
he had not been, and that in tho meantime
he had been seen by Turner.
g. The story that he turned of the main
road at point between Mitchel's and Her.
shey's, and took byroad that would have
brought him to the spot described by Tur.
uer
7. All the stories that he was seen riding
in buggy with lady. After great deal
of inquiry found but one instance of the |
kind in the community for years, and the |
witness who had been mentioned to me by SOW
eral persons as knowing something of great
Importance testified that it was some time
before the Turner story, and that she sup.
posed the lady to have been Mr.. Todd's
wife.
s. The stories that Mr.. Todd had a wo-
man behind him on horseback, or that q
woman followed him on foot.
| name the above rumors, which are now,
think, admitted by everybody to be untrue,
because the existence Of these false reports, |
with numerous others not named, is one |
fact TO he accounted for in The history of
this case.
AS the first important question to be de-
termned was Mr.. Todd's reute of travel, |
called upon nearly all families located near
The roads in question and upon all individu |
ais that | could hear were rumored to have |
any knowledge of the whereabouts of Mr. |
Todd. At the beginning of my investigation |
was forced to the conclusion that
Mr.. Todd possessed the faculty of
he was reported on all sorts of roads |
and by-roads at all possible times, both on
horseback and in bugges. The fact seems |
to have been that as soon as the story Of |
Turner became known everyone put on his
thinking cap and told his next neighbor OF |
all the horsemen and buggies that had been |
seen in his vicinity for several weeks past,
and his neighbor seems to have surmised |
that his informant had seen Mr. Todd and 40
informed his neighbor next adjoining. But |
rs each person was sworn and examined |
doubt after doubt disappeared, and it may
possibly turn out that Mr. Todd is only |
capable OF being in one place at one time.
An incident Illustrating the difficulty in
cases of this kind TRANSFERRED on Friday, 10th,
when | met number of gentlemen working
on the road who informed me that Mr. Todd
was then in the neighborhood and had been
seen driving in buggy that day. hap.
pened to know who it was and succeeded in
convincing them of their mistake, but they
informed mo that they would have been
willing to have sworn it was Mr.. Todd.
Fortunately there now appears no conflict
of evidence in the case, leaving out of &C.
count the evidence of Rob't III. Turner, con.
corning which | here express no opinion.
This speaks we'll for the truthfuIness of the
community in general during period of in
tense excitement. 1t is also due to the
community to say that could find no foun-
dation for the various reports of lynchng,
mobbing, &C., except the excited assertions
of some persons expelled from Mr.. Todd's
church years since. 1t was asserted, as l